


Love is...

by OldGuardianNewTricks



Series: Life is... [3]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Brief mention of a panic attack but we don’t see it, Fluff, Just the fluffiest fluff, M/M, With a teeny tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:02:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27264691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldGuardianNewTricks/pseuds/OldGuardianNewTricks
Summary: So I finally decided to stop being mean to Nicky and give him all the love- literally this is just love.Nicky shows his family love- they show him theirs.Ok he does have a panic attack (coz I am mean) but briefly mentioned and he literally gets cwtshed* by all of them.*Cwtsh- a Welsh cuddle but like a super cuddle!
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Life is... [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990438
Comments: 9
Kudos: 131





	Love is...

It has taken Nicky a very long time but he thinks he finally understands what love actually is. 

Love is Joe. That is one fact that Nicky has always been sure of. Joe is the sun, hot and bright. Wrapping Nicky in his arms surrounding him with warmth-letting Nicky take all he needs. Whispering to him and always listening to him. No matter how absurd Nicky thinks he’s being. 

Love is Nicky making sure that there is always good coffee for newly awakened Joe and that no-one but Nicky talks to him until it has been drunk. 

Love is Nile buying Nicky a new mp3 player and introducing him to her favourite white noise apps and playlists curated by her. They sometimes help to drown out that nasty little inner voice. And if she records messages of love from her and Joe when they have to part for missions, and if Nicky picks her up and swings her around kissing her hair mumbling thank yous when they get back together it stays between them. 

Love is the team refusing to let him cut his hair short. Quynh spends hours plaiting it and telling him stories- as she did so many years ago. Nile and Andy like playing with it and Booker has been known to ruffle it affectionately as he passes. Nicky likes it when Joe pulls it in bed but the others don’t need to know that. (The others **ALL** know that.)

Love is Nicky training Nile to use a sniper rifle.The feeling of pride that surges in him when she makes a shot he would have found tricky is almost overwhelming. 

__

Love is Nicky insisting on cooking a family dinner every week and somehow always making something everyone loves. They sing his praises and he blushes hiding his face behind his hands. Later Joe or Book will have to practically sit on him to stop him washing up- whilst also taking an active part in the argument as to why they shouldn’t be the ones to do said washing up. 

Love is Andy hugging him when they’ve been apart. Melting into his arms and rubbing his neck. 

Love is an emotional all night talk between Nicky and Booker. Nicky always though Booker didn’t like him. Booker hadn’t known how to read Nicky and thought he was cold and distant. Nile and Copley have found Booker a suitable therapist and Booker has given up drinking. Nicky throws away all the alcohol and swears to support him. Booker in turn doesn’t let a day go by without giving his brother a pat on the shoulder or a hug. 

Love is Nicky presenting Andy with baklava and watching her face light up with joy. 

Love is Nicky sitting quietly with Quynh or Nile on the nights when they have nightmares. He makes them tea, listening to them and holds them tight. When they go back to bed he returns to Joe who in turn holds Nicky close. 

Love is when Nicky finds an envelope on his pillow one Father’s Day marked Papâ. Baffled he opens it to find a drawing by Joe of Nile and Nicky on the sofa- Nicky is clearly snorting with joy and Nile has her head thrown back on his shoulder- hands gripping her sides as she laughs.  
Written on the back in Nile’s hand is

“A father is someone who cares and helps and loves you even though you aren’t his own- Happy Father’s Day Papâ” 

Joe replaces the illustration over the centuries- he knows when it has faded and Nile always leaves the new version of it on Nicky’s pillow. The current drawing is always kept in Nicky’s wallet- next to a photo Nile took of him and Joe- bodies close, arms entwined, slow dancing together.

A horrendous mission involving children and traffickers ends in Nicky having a massive and drawn out panic attack. Joe holds him whilst Nile counts his breathing with him. Booker brings a cold flannel to wipe his face. Andy and Quynh turn down the lights and close the curtains. Once he’s calmed Joe lifts him to take him to shower- Booker already in the bathroom lighting candles so they don’t need to turn on the harsh fluorescence. 

Nile gets the t-shirt and sweatpants she bought for Nicky and Joe in the softest material she could find and lays them out on their bed. She then goes to her room to change into her set 

“No point you being all cozy if we’re all scratchy”

She’d said when she presented them. Nicky had rubbed the material between his fingers looking stunned and Joe had hugged Nile

“You are a blessing”

He’d whispered. 

Finally when Nicky, Joe and Nile return they settle on the sofa. Nicky wrapped in Joe’s arms resting on his chest. Nile cuddled under Nicky’s arm with her head on his stomach. Andy and Quynh are on the end of the sofa their hands rubbing Nicky’s ankles so he knows they are there. Booker sits on the floor back to the sofa and as Nicky fumbles Booker takes his hand.

As Nicky drifts off he hears them all talking softly- deciding on what film to watch and what food to order in. 

Love, Nicky thinks, is this.

**Author's Note:**

> Awh Nicky- I feel as though I have been very mean to him and he needed the love!


End file.
